Million-dollar fine may hit driver dumping asbestos

A truck driver has been caught on closed circuit TV illegally dumping asbestos outside two pre-schools in inner Sydney.

The driver dumped two tonnes of construction waste in Wattle Lane in Ultimo at about 4pm on December 14 last year.

Parents who arrived to pick up their children after the spill inadvertently drove over the asbestos material.

The council has released CCTV footage of the "brazen and despicable" incident, appealing to the public to help find the truck and its driver.

The footage shows the truck with its tipping tray up and the rear tray gate swinging open, spilling asbestos into the roadway as it passes over two speed bumps installed to protect pre-school children.

The truck was earlier filmed driving around nearby streets with its number plate covered.

The council's director of city operations Garry Harding says the driver faces a $A1 million fine and up to seven years in jail.

The council spent $A13,000 cleaning up the area after the alarm was raised.

"Our teams have been trying to locate this truck without tipping-off the owner and possibly compromising the case," Mr Harding said.

"But it's like trying to find a needle in a haystack. It's time to enlist the help of the people of Sydney in trying to find this vehicle."